Saturday, September 13, 2014

Be Still – Part 1


Psalm 46God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Pastor Kyle started a new Sermon series titled “Be Still” for the five year anniversary of old City Church of Anaheim and the “hard launch” of the new City Church merger for the whole month of September. Here are my notes on this last Sunday’s message: From the very first sentence of this sacred Psalm, the context is “in times of trouble”. When we have a true relationship with Jesus Christ, who wants the work powerfully in us, there is always the element of refuge, a safe place because, honestly, not everything in this world is “just right”. When our earthly foundations are crumbling, we can go to God in stillness for His strength as that fortress refuge. There the Spirit of God flows like a river within us and outpours towards others. But, when we are spiritually dry, more often than not, we are not drinking from the river within us. There is an old saying: “If we do not feel close to God anymore, it is us who moved, not Him.” Then again, we can forever go to God and He will change us. In the chaos of life, we can always be still and know that He is God. When we put our trust in Jesus and accept the free gift of salvation, the Almighty Creator of the Universe promises to (1) forgive our sins, (2) adopt us into the family of God, (3) fill us with His Holy Spirit, and (4) give us eternal life in heaven. Our Heavenly Father says: “I got you”, but the problem is that “you don’t got you” and we need to get that fact straight. Reality matters.

Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

We can go to God regardless of what is going on in our lives. Father God is willing to work with our circumstances, but is interested in our connection and relationship with Him. When God doesn't change our situation, He’ll often use the stillness to change us. But some of us do not want to meet with our Creator God in stillness because we know that we will be confronted with the reality of our willful sin and don’t want it to come up, which we know will. When we see His Holiness, the King, we cannot help but notice that we are nothing like Him.


 Psalm 104:1-2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty.”


We shall continue my notes on Pastor Kyle Sermon tomorrow.
In Christ, Brian

2 comments:

Kyle B said...

I love that you take time to post so many great blogs. Good work Brian.

Brian Ray Todd said...

I'm so blessed that you keep preaching the Word of God each week Pastor Kyle. It is for the glory of God that we both have our ministry. God bless you and the church.